Art quilters use many of the same quilting tools as traditional quilters. From irons, rotary cutters, and quilting rulers to basic quilting notions like thread, pins, and needles—our sewing rooms share similar quilt supplies. Jamie Fingal finds the best fabric scissors by trying them out on different...

When you learn to quilt , the first lesson is that a quilt is made up of three elements: the top, the batting, and the backing fabric. Together they are known as a quilt sandwich. In this eFolio project from Colorful Fabric Collage , Sue Bleiweiss used wool felt and interfacing as the batting. Now, when...

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., a day when we gather with family and friends, stuff ourselves with traditional foods (or their vegetarian, gluten-free, low-sodium versions), and reflect on what we are thankful for. Some of us also watch football. Our entire Quilting Arts family feels especially...

Many art quilters find fusible web indispensable for quilt making . Fusible web is basically a sheet of glue that melts when you press fabric onto it with a hot iron, sticking the pieces of fabric together. Quilt artist Jamie Fingal uses Mistyfuse fusible for all her quilt making. Because art quilts...

Why did I ever take up quilting? Necessity! I was 16 years old and redecorating my impossibly small bedroom. A section of my second quilt, when I was a newbie at quilt making. Armed with a redwork pattern of kittens in a variety of poses and a few yards of calico, I set to work. Twelve embroidered blocks...

When anyone asks me how to make quilts with free-form, contemporary designs, I often want tell them I can sum it up in two words: trial and error. 'Urban Storefront,' and example of how to make a quilt with improvisation techniques, by Rayna Gillman. That's not entirely true, of course. Most...

Our foremothers knew how to make a quilt using only what they had, from scraps of fabric to natural dyes. But, quilt making the frugal and eco-friendly way was easier for them: they didn't have much of a choice. Pioneer women didn't have fabric stores, and even our own mothers didn't have...

I always love to hear how people began quilting. Did they make their first patchwork quilt at their grandmother's knee? Did they get bored and take a class that led to a passion? Did a friend drag them to a quilt show, and they were hooked? Ashley Newcomb For Ashley Newcomb, blogger at filminthefridge...

I confess: sometimes I get so caught up in the "art" I forget about the "quilting." Let me explain. An idea for an art quilt forms in my mind based on, say, a favorite TV show such as (still--and forever) Tony Soprano. Or, a new line of gorgeous fabrics hits my desk and I have to...

I'm pretty sure that when most people think about how to make a quilt , "metal" isn't the first thing that pops into their mind. But there are so many ways you can incorporate metal into your quilts and wall hangings, adding texture, dimension, shine, and that element of surprise. Here...